Certain accidents are out of everyone’s control, such as a tree falling in the roadway. However, this is rare. More often there is an at-fault party who is legally liable to cover financial damages. 

Fault is related to a legal concept, and it means that we all have the basic duty to other people not to be behave in a way that puts others at risk of harm. If you violate that duty by making a decision that puts someone else in harm’s way and that leads to an injury, then you may have to pay for the injuries the person suffers.

Fault is a way for the legal system to deal with wrongs that aren’t necessarily criminal but still lead to injuries. 

So, if you’re in a car accident, how is fault determined? This can get a bit tricky and it’s one of the big reasons you should hire an attorney if you’re in an accident. Generally, the following are some conditions that are part of determining fault. 

Fault and No-Fault States

The majority of states are described as being fault states as far as car accidents and the financial responsibility that comes with them. That means that whoever is at-fault for the accident, or more specifically their insurance, is liable for losses of the other drivers and passengers as well as anyone else who might have been hurt. 

Damages can include damage to the vehicle, lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering. 

In a no-fault state, car owners are required to have something like personal injury coverage. 

Personal injury coverage kicks in after a car accident, and it pays for economic losses that the policyholder suffers and medical bills, without regard for who was at fault. 

In a no-fault state, it’s rare for the at-fault driver to be sued. 

The Process of Determining Fault

When you file an insurance claim, the adjuster will first start figuring out how the accident occurred. That may mean the insurance company will look at all of the evidence of the accident, and that will help them make a determination on fault. 

The adjuster will heavily rely on the police report if a law enforcement officer came to the scene. 

This will show whether one driver or the other received a traffic citation, which could indicate that officer thinks the other party is the one at fault. 

Vehicle Damage

When it comes to actually determining fault, vehicle damage is one of the big ways it can be done. 

Certain types of car damage make it pretty apparent who’s at fault, and in these situations, your best sources of evidence are pictures of the scene itself, names of witnesses, and police reports. 

When there’s an accident and fault is being determined, it can come down to he-says she-says, which makes pictures and witnesses critical. 

Traffic Violations

In some instances, which can be related to vehicle damage as well, it’s easy to see who’s at fault in an accident if there’s an obvious traffic violation that took place and led to the accident. 

A traffic violation might be speeding, not yielding, running a stop sign or running a red light. 

Traffic laws at the state and local level help determine if there were actions that should have been followed and weren’t during the process of determining fault. 

Rear-End Crashes

There’s a general rule that if a vehicle is hit from the rear, the driver behind them is the one at fault.  

The reason for this is that you are supposed to leave a certain amount of distance between you and the car in front of you. 

If you’re following too closely and the person in front of you brakes too quickly, that’s on you.

Left-Hand Turns

Another frequent rule of fault similar to the rear-end crash is that if a driver makes a left turn and hits a person who’s in incoming traffic, the driver who was making the turn is usually the one at fault. 

Oncoming traffic has what’s called the right-of-way. 

The driver who’s turning is required to wait until it’s safe to turn. 

With that being said, the driver in oncoming traffic could still be found at fault if they were running a red light, speeding, or doing something else that played a role in the accident. 

Finally, there are instances where a driver might admit fault, particularly when they’re still at the scene of the accident. It’s important if you’re in an accident never to admit fault or apologize.